FRIDAY

[noun]

the sixth day of the week, following Thursday; the fifth working day of the week.

The name Friday comes from the Old English Frīġedæġ, meaning the “day of Frigg/Freyja”, a result of an old convention associating the Old English goddess Frige with the Roman goddess Venus, with whom the day is associated in many different cultures.

Frigg is a major goddess in Norse paganism. She is said to be the wife of Odin, and is the “foremost among the goddesses” and the queen of Asgard. Frigg appears primarily in Norse mythological stories as a wife and a mother. She is also described as having the power of prophecy yet she does not reveal what she knows. Frigg is described as the only one other than Odin who is permitted to sit on his high seat Hlidskjalf and look out over the universe. She is the mother of Baldr. Her stepchildren are Thor, Hermóðr, Heimdallr, Týr, Bragi, Víðarr, Váli, Skjöldur, and Höðr. Frigg’s companion is Eir, a goddess associated with medical skills. Frigg’s attendants are Hlín, Gná, and Fulla.

Alternatively, Freyja (Old Norse the “Lady”) is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. She is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, owns the boar Hildisvíni, possesses a cloak of falcon feathers, and, by her husband Óðr, is the mother of two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. Along with her brother Freyr (Old Norse the “Lord”), her father Njörðr, and her mother (Njörðr’s sister, unnamed in sources), she is a member of the Vanir. Stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Frejya, Freyia, Frøya, Frøjya, and Freia.

Etymology: ‘day of Frigg/Freyja’ - Ancient Greek hemera Aphrodites (day of Aphrodite) > Latin dies Veneris (day of Venus) > Old English frigedæg (Freya/Frigg’s day); Middle English fridai; Germanic frije-dagaz; Old High German Frīatag; Modern German Freitag; Old Norse frjá-dagr; Dutch Vrijdag; Modern Scandinavian Fredag.

[J.C. Dollman, edited by Magdalena] [1] [2]